In the assembly and disassembly of scaffolds, the worker does not have a convenient space to store a multiple of tools needed for the task. Further, the worker is in a high hazard area where it is desirable to have as few tools to control as possible and also where simplicity of operation of a tool is highly desired. It has been customary for workers in the field to modify existing tools such as a ratchet wrench, a hammer and/or a prybar to form a single tool which has all of these features. For example, a prybar would be welded onto a ratchet. This tool provides a safer solution. At the present time, there is no single tool available which has all the features required by workers who assemble and disassemble scaffolds.
The applicant is aware of two scaffold wrenches which are presently available. Snap-on Tool Co. model S717 has a handle, a hammer tip and a reversible socket. The socket cannot be turned by manual rotation of the hammer tip. The Wright Tool and Forge Co. has model 4482 similar to U.S. Pat. No. Des. 276,125 except that the patent does not disclose a hammer tip. Also, the socket can be turned clockwise by hand but rotation in a counterclockwise direction unscrews the hammer tip from the wrench.
Combination tools are also known. In U.S. Pat. No. 1,472,517, Fry discloses a wrecking tool having a handle, a penetrating pinch-bar at one end of the handle and a curved head with a claw at the other end. A hammer head is formed on one side of the head. The tool does not have a socket or a ratchet. Rockwell, in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 53,613 discloses a design for a combination tool having a pinch-bar at one end of a handle and a claw at the other end of the handle. A hammer head is formed on one side of the claw. This tool, also, does not have a socket or a ratchet. Hoeflicker in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 156,732, discloses a design for a combination tool having a screwdriver head at one end of a handle and an open-end adjustable wrench at the other end with a hammer head at one jaw of the wrench. In U.S. Pat. No. Des. 208,068, Rando discloses a design for a combination tool having a chisel-like tool at one end of a handle, an open end adjustable wrench at the other end of the handle, and a hammer head and claw approximately mid-way between the two ends.
There remains a need for a more versatile, easily usable multipurpose tool which can be used safely in hazardous situations in the assembly and disassembly of a scaffold.